1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a network photograph service system which provides a digital photographic service, such as printing, on a network.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a form of digital photographic services, network photograph services have been known. In a network photograph service system, digital images owned by users are stored (registered) in a system of a service provider and printing orders or the like are received via a network such as the Internet.
In such a service, a register ID is issued to a user when the user asks a laboratory to register digital images upon developing a film, for example. The photographs recorded on the film are digitized by the laboratory or by a service center dedicated therefor. The digitized images are stored in a system of the service provider and disclosed on a network. The user can browse among his/her images having been registered, by accessing the system of the service provider via the network. At this time, image browsing is restricted by the register ID. In many cases, browsing is restricted in two steps, by a register ID and a password.
As has been described above, in a network photograph service, image browsing is restricted so that a person other than the owner of an image cannot see the image without permission. However, in the case of photographs taken during a trip with friends for example, the owner of the photographs may wish to let others browse among the images. In this case, in a conventional network photograph service, if the owner lets a person know the register ID or the password, the person can browse through the images.
However, if the register ID or the password is known by a friend of the owner for example, the friend can browse photographs of the owner""s family trip if the family trip photographs and the photographs of a trip with the friend have been registered under the same ID and the password. In order to avoid this, the owner of the photographs needs to sort photographs according to a person to browse before registration of the photographs, and to obtain IDs and passwords different for each person to browse.
Many network photograph services which are currently available register images per film, and images belonging to each film are shown as one group upon browsing. Therefore, in order to obtain IDs different for each person or group to browse, images have to be recorded by changing films for each to browse. However, in the case where a film has some exposures left, it is general to continue photographing until the film is finished. In other words, it is not common practice to change films for each person or group to browse.
Furthermore, in the service where image registration is carried out per film, all photographs cannot be seen at once when 2 films of photographs have been taken at a trip, for example.
Moreover, some users may wish to allow different persons to browse the same photographs. For example, a user may wish to show photographs taken at a company trip to his/her colleagues, and also wish to show his/her parents only photographs that the user is in, out of the company trip photographs. In a conventional service where image registration is carried out at each time a film is read, images to be shown cannot be limited for different persons to browse.
Another method wherein registration is carried out not in blocks of images on each film but in any arbitrary unit is possible, although it is not carried out due to complex registration processing. In this method, photographs on 2 films can be registered and shown at one time, and registration of images classified by each person or group to browse is also possible.
However, image registration for each to browse means double registration of the same photographs with a system of a service provider when the same photographs are seen by a plurality of persons, such as the case in the above. In a conventional system, double registration doubles the cost due to memory space occupied by the images or the management fee therefor. Therefore, the service charge is doubled, which is not desirable for both the user and the service provider.
On the other hand, there is another method wherein photographs are shown in different web pages after being digitized at home or at a laboratory and classified for each person or group to browse. However, this kind of task is usually time-consuming and not all users can generate a web page.
Therefore, demands have been growing for a system wherein images are disclosed on a network only to persons that a user allows to browse through the images, without a trouble during or after photographing of the images and without extra cost. Based on consideration of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a network photograph service system which has a function to carry out such a service in the above, without a load on users and at low cost.
A network photograph service system of the present invention provides various kinds of services using an image disclosed on a network, and comprises:
image recording means for recording a plurality of images therein;
image selecting means for enabling a user of the service to select from images which the user can browse one or a plurality of images belonging to an image group by enabling the name of the image group having been pre-registered and the images recorded in the image recording means to be seen on the network;
image group managing means for managing the image group by recording a correspondence between the name of the image group and the image selected as an image belonging to the image group; and
grouped image disclosing means for enabling, based on the recorded correspondence, a user of the service to browse on the network only images belonging to an image group out of the images recorded in the image recording means when the name of the image group is specified by the user.
The xe2x80x9cimage recording meansxe2x80x9d means an image database which stores and manages images received from users. Each image is stored and managed as an image file in a large capacity hard disc or the like and the name of the image file is decided upon registration, according to a predetermined rule (for example, a register ID plus the date of image registration). Each image file is read from the hard disc upon necessity. The image recording means may not necessarily be a single recording medium. For example, the image recording means may include a plurality of hard discs. Alternatively, images can be assigned and stored in hard discs of a plurality of server computers in a distributive manner.
The xe2x80x9cimage selecting meansxe2x80x9d displays the names of available image groups and images having been stored on a screen of a personal computer of a user who accesses the system via the network, and enables the user to select an image by inputting a number or by clicking a mouse. The user selects an image group and images to be included therein, and presses an OK button, for example. In this manner, the user can define the image group. Alternatively, image groups to be chosen from may be displayed with check boxes under each image so that the image group to which each image belongs can be selected.
It is preferable for the images displayed by the image selecting means to be limited to the images registered by a user as in the case of a conventional network system. However, since the present invention is applicable to not only the images registered by a user but also images provided by service providers for example, the image selecting means does not necessarily have a function for restricting browsing.
The xe2x80x9cname of the image groupxe2x80x9d in this invention means not only a name in characters but also any identifier for identifying an image group. For example, xe2x80x9cgroup Axe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ccompany tripxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cG001xe2x80x9d can be listed as the names of image groups.
The xe2x80x9cimage group managing meansxe2x80x9d stores information obtained by the image selecting means, that is, a correspondence between an image group and images belonging to the image group. To store the xe2x80x9ccorrespondencexe2x80x9d means to store information showing the correspondence alone, and does not include the case where images are classified and recorded in the image groups. In other words, even in the case where one image belongs to a plurality of image groups, the image is recorded once and not copied to be recorded under each image group.
As a method to store the correspondence, a table relating the name of an image group to the names of image files may be used. Alternatively, each image may have accompanying information showing the name of an image group to which it belongs.
In other words, in a conventional system, images can be grouped only by being stored in each group they belong to, while the present system can define an image group by recording the correspondence.
The xe2x80x9cgrouped image disclosing meansxe2x80x9d displays the names of available image groups on a screen of a personal computer of a user who has accessed to the system via the network so that the user can specify the image group he/she needs. The grouped image disclosing means then displays only images belonging to the image group by using the stored correspondence to find the images.
On this occasion, the grouped image disclosing means may restrict browsing of the images in the specified image group by allowing only a user who has input a pre-registered password to browse the images.
It is preferable for the above system to further comprise image group registering means for enabling a user to register an image group on the network. In other words, the xe2x80x9cimage group names having been pre-registeredxe2x80x9d may be fixed to names determined by a service provider, such as xe2x80x9cgroup Axe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cgroup Bxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cgroup Cxe2x80x9d, but it is more preferable for the system to have a function which allows a user to register on the network any image group name such as xe2x80x9ccompany tripxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cChristmas partyxe2x80x9d.
On this occasion, not only the image group name but also a password may be set so that the correspondence between the name of the image group set by the user and the password to limit browsing of the images belonging to the image group is stored. In this manner, it becomes possible for the password to restrict browsing in conjunction with the grouped image disclosing means.
Furthermore, the system may further comprise comment attaching means for enabling a user on the network to attach a comment to an image disclosed by the grouped image disclosing means so that the grouped image disclosing means can display comment information attached to the image together with the image.
Moreover, the system may comprise print ordering means for ordering prints of the images disclosed on the network by the grouped image disclosing means.
According to the network photograph service system of the present invention, a user can classify images having been registered while browsing them on the network, by using the function of the image selecting means. Therefore, no classification upon image registration is necessary and images can be classified regardless of the unit in which images are registered.
Information regarding the classification input by the user is stored by the image group managing means as the correspondence between the name of the image group and the images. Therefore, in the case where photographs taken at a company trip and a family trip have been registered together, only the photographs regarding the company trip can be disclosed to colleagues as an image group and no photographs of the family trip will be seen by the colleagues.
In other words, according to the system of the present invention, a user can show only the images he/she wishes to show only to persons he/she wishes to show the images by accessing the system via the network and carrying out a simple setting or selection. Therefore, by a simple operation, a user can compose his/her electronic album on the system of a service provider and share the album with his/her acquaintances on the network.
If the grouped image disclosing means allows only the users who have input a predetermined password to browse images belonging to the image group, images with high secrecy can be disclosed safely.
If the system comprises the image group registering means so that a user can register an image group having any image group name on the network, the kind of the images belonging to each image group can be guessed, which is convenient for users.
As for passwords, they may be issued by a service provider. However, if a password can be freely set by a user, it is more convenient for users.
Moreover, if the accompanying information showing the name of the image group that each image belong to is attached to each image when a correspondence between the name of the image group and the image belonging to the group is stored by the image group managing means, there will be no contradiction due to a correspondence having been deleted in the case where corresponding images are deleted together with the correspondence after a predetermined storage period has passed, for example. In other words, if the correspondence is stored in a table showing the relation between the name of the image group and the names or IDs of the images, the correspondence table needs to be updated upon deletion or addition of an image belonging to the image group. On the other hand, in the method wherein the name of an image group is attached to an image file, it is not necessary to update the correspondence, which leads to comparatively easier management.
In the above system, if a person who has viewed a disclosed image can attach a comment thereto and if the attached comment can be viewed by a person who views the image thereafter, comments can be made on an image on the network in the same manner as writing a comment on a paper album being circulated.
Furthermore, if printing of an image disclosed by the grouped image disclosing means can be ordered, a photographer does not need to ask his/her acquaintances regarding additional printing orders, and each person can order printing of an image he/she needs by browsing through the disclosed images.